This invention relates to the field of user interfaces for visualizing, interacting with, and creating or modifying data in general, and in particular data organized into hierarchies.
There are many examples of large collections of data that have a hierarchical structure (for example, a company's employee organization chart). Prior applications for displaying hierarchical data typically require the larger desktop screens and precision of interaction afforded by a mouse to be used effectively. Because of these design factors, hierarchical data visualizations developed for desktop and laptop computers do not transfer well to mobile or other electronic devices with smaller screens, less precise input devices, and fundamentally different basic operating characteristics, such as finger touch and gesture-based interfaces.
Prior desktop visualizations allow for unrestricted or less restricted views and navigation of hierarchical data. They include controls for scrolling, panning, and/or zooming around the view. However, this navigational flexibility adds complexity on small screens, and the visualization controls often consume substantial portions of the very limited screen space.
There is an unmet need to solve the problems of prior hierarchical visualizations when displayed on smaller screens, while maintaining easy and accurate user interaction and the capability to provide both sufficient overview and sufficient detail.